Motion picture screen



Dec. 25, 1934. A, l.. RAVEN MOTION PICTURE S CREEN Filed Aug. 25, 1928 Patented Dec. 25, 1934 UNITED STATE wenn@ FFICE 2 lairns.

'Ihis invention relates to moving picture screens and has for its object the provision of certain improvements in moving picture screens. More particularly, the invention aims to provide a screen for motion pictures which will admit of the passage therethrough of sound waves and at the same time present to the spectators a highly reflective and diffusing surface.

In a heretofore customary manner of making reflecting motion picture screens the foundation or base of the screen is composed of some dense material, preferably of such a nature that little, if any, light may be transmitted therethrough, the primary object being to obtain a front surface which will reect towards the spectators a maximum quantity of light without the production of a glarevas would be `produced by a mirrored surface. Various means lare utilized to obtain this result; one way of obtaining this is disclosed in my prior Patent No. 1,315,743, dated September 9, 1919. Various expedients are used to prevent the reiiecting surface of these screens from all lying in the same plane, the objectbeing to obtain a diffusion of the reflected light.

With the advent of talking motion pictures, such for example, as the Vitaphone, it has been found that when large screens are used with the sound producing horn placed at one side of the screen, the voice or music does not appear to emanate from the logical source of the sound, that is, the picture projected on the screen. This effect is particularly noticeable when an actor in a picture is speaking while in a position adjacent to one margin of the picture, while the horn of the Vitaphone is located near the opposite margin of the screen. .This eiect is not noticeable enough to be disturbing to those seated in the centre of the theatre and at a considerable distance from the screen. It, however, is very pronounced to one sitting at the side of the theatre at a considerable angle to the screen.

In order to overcome this defect it is necessary to replace the usual opaque screen with a porous cloth screen locating the Vitaphone speaker directly behind the screen. The porous nature of the cloth screen permits the passage therethrough of the sound wavesand as a consequence the sound appears to emanate from the projected picture upon the screen. This method has the very serious defect that due to the porous translucent nature of the cloth screen a great portion (about 40%) of the light projected thereon passes through the screen and is lost, thus the illumination of the picture is proportionately reduced. In order to compensate for this, it is proposed to in- (Cl. 88u24) crease the candle power of the projection apparatus. This, however, means a substantial in.- crease in the current consumption which substantially increases the cost of operation of a small theatre where the Vitaphone is run continuously with the showing of the picture iilm. Increasing the candle power of the projection apparatus also increases the danger of burning or damaging the lm as it passes through the projection machine. In case the Vitaphone is only used occasionally and it is desired to save current, it would be necessary to use two screens of the type heretofore available.

I have discovered that a motion picture projection screen may be made which will reect and diffuse a largev portion of the projected light and at the same time permit the free passage therethrough of air and like gases and air carried sound waves. In the practice of the invention a ioraminous screen is constructed with the perforations or holes passing through the screen at an acute angle to the plane of the screen. It is advantageous to have these holes so disposed that they slant downwardly toward the back of the screen. The disposition of the holes in this manner prevents the direct rays of light from the projection apparatus from passing through the holes in the screen and becoming lost. Holes slanted upwardly toward the back of the screen might be aligned directly with spectators and would consequently appear as minute dots on the surface of the screen.

Another advantage gained by running the holes obliquely downward toward the back of the screen is that the light from the projection apparatus illuminates the entire back of the hole which is visible to the spectators; therefore the total il` lumination of the screen is reduced but slightly by the presence of the perforations.

In practicing the invention it has been ound advantageous to increase somewhat the thickness of the screen to prevent loss of light through the perforations of the foraminous structure of the screen. In case the body of the screen is made of material which has poor reflecting qualities and in which the reflecting surface comprises a specially compounded lm or coating, it has been found advantageous to form the perforations prior to the application of the reflecting film. This procedure permits the reflecting film to be applied to the exposed surface of the holes in a manner similar to its application to the surface of the screen.

Erequently, a reflecting motion picture screen has upon its surface impressions or protuberances 32 oi a 'woven screen. The weave oi the screen illustrated is such that the warp Wires lll are substantially straight and parallel to each other. The weit Wires 32, however, are bent in a zig-zag manner as they cross over and under adjacent oi the Warp Wires 3l. fis the warp wire appears on the surface of the screen, it is bent over the adjacent warp Wire which is disappearing :from the surface. Thus, the two wires have the appearance oi being twisted around each other when in reality each wire is but bent in a Zig-zag manner so that they may be jinrtaposedv during at least a portion oi their length.

The screen illustrated in Figs. l'l and lo is made up of corrugated strips 33 superimposed ridge to ridge with each succeeding strip overlapping the previous strip. The' strips are disposed so that the plane of the strip is oblique to the plane oi the surface of the screen.

ln a screen made up in the manner just described either side of the screen may be used as the front or redecting surface depending largely upon whether it is desirable to have the sound Waves projected downwardly or upwardly as they leave the iront of the screen. The question of whether the sound transmitting openings shall slant upwardly or downwardly depends also largely upon the design ci the theatre in which the screen is to be used. 'lhe deciding factors are the distance of the screen from the spectators and the relative position of the projection apparatus, screen and spectators.

'llhe corrugated surfaces oi the strips maire advantageous light diilusing mediums because of the curved surfaces of the corrugated strips. The sloping disposition of the strips precludes the direct passage of light through the' screen and the openings formed by the corrugations present a very large area for the passage of sound through the screen.

The corrugated strips may be made oi various materials including metals and metallic alloys. Textile fabrics appropriately stiffened are also advantageous and the various pulp products, such for example as paper and cardboard, various other plastics and molding compounds are also advantageous in forming the corrugated strips.

lli' it is desirable. to have the strips closer tof gether they inay be joined at any place on the `slope of the ridges so that they Will be in dried spaced relation to one another. This method of joining will proportionately reduce the available Soundtrensmitting passages through the screen but may prove advantageous in reducing the quantity of light lost in these passages.

Fig. it is a sectional View on the line 2id-lb of Figure i7 and depicts more readily the overlapping of the joined corrugated strips. 'lhese strips may be held adjacent to each other in any appropriate manner as by soldering, welding or by means of appropriate adhesivesmr depending from appropriate supports.

The screen illustrated in Figs. i9 and 2li is built in substantially the same manner as that illustrated in Figs. ll and lu. Short hollow tubes :i4 take the place of the corrugated rows of the other figures. The strips of tubes overlap adjacent rows of tubes in substantially the same manner as the corrugated strips overlap. Y

The tubes 34 are set obliquely to the plane of the screen and the hollow interior of the tubes transmit the sound through the screen. Subn stantially the same latitude of construction niaterial is available as was the case `vtvith the corru-a gated strips and the tubes may be joined in suba noauto@ stantially the saine manner. The length ci the tubes depends almost wholly on the interior iameter oi the tubes for they must be long enougli'to inhibit the passage therethrough of directrays of light from the projection apparatus.

'ihe screen or Figs. l to le inclusive, may be made of a wide range of materials. 'Under certain conditions of molding and removing from the mold, it is advantageous to maire use of a material which Will be somewhat iiexible, after it has attained its original set. nll/iaterials in the nature of rubber compositions are available 'for ,this type of screen, as vvell as certain plastic corn-n positions composed chiefly ci nitro-cellulose, or cellulose acetate, gelatine and the like, combined with suitable fillers. Linoxolin, pyroxylin and the like combined with suitable fillers may also be ufound advantageous in constructing this type oi screen. in fact, any plastic material which re mains more or less exible after it has set, is found usei'ul in molding screens of this nature.

lt is not necessary although it may be desirable, that the material of the body of the screen shall be of a light colored nature, for the surface of the screen after it is formed may be painted with a suitable coating oi light reflecting material, such for instance, as aluminum paint, the customar-y white paint and the lilre.` These coatings, however, are not so desirable as a screen in which the body itself is composed of a goed light reflecting medium, and it is usually found advantageous to construct the body of the screen of this type of material.

The reinforcing material which is placed within the body of the screen itself may comprise a.

great variety of material, such for instance, as textile fabrics in the nature of cheesecloth and mosquito netting. Wire fabrics in the nature of Woven wire materials have also been found desirable in reinforcing screens made in accordance lil dll

with the invention. lt, is sometimes desirable to reinforce the screen with straight pieces of fabric or wire, which are laid Within the body of the mold and around which the molding material is iorced.

Screens made in accordance with the present invention may also comprise rigid materials in the nature of ordinary White plaster, plaster oi Paris, or bloclrs composed of magnesium oxide, carbonate or the lilre. When a screen is com= posed of these rigid nmterials, it is frequently desirable to place the communicating sound car- .rying holes and light redecting-depressions in the screen after the screen has'been assembled or aiter the individual blocks have been formed. llt is advantageous in forming the rigid type oi screen to make the plaster or magnesium blocks individually in squares or inter-locking blocks of suitable size. These blocks are then placed upon an appropriate leaching, such as tightly stretched `vire netting and suitably attached to the netting. The blocks may be attached to thel netting in any suitable manner either by adhesives or plastics or they may be mechanically attached to the reinforcing wire netting. As the blocks are placed till together a suitable bonding material is placed in the joints and the surface of the screen later ap propriately smoothed so that the bonding joints do not appreciably impair the reflection of light from the surface of the screen and are not vis-f maare@ The communicating holes are mechanically bored or drilled through the blocks and the screen appears as a plain white surface of reflecting material lled with a myriad of small holes 5 communicating with -the back of the screen. The

back surface of these holes since they comprise the same material as the screen itself, reflect and diffuse the light in a satisfactory manner.

Angular or similar depressions may be made in the surface of the screen if it is desirable from an acoustic standpoint communicating at their apexes with the holes which transmit the sound from the back of the screen. These depressions in this type of material do not interfere with the diffusion of light, but rather assist in this diffusion. Since the flaring sides of the depressions aid in directing the soundwhich may be carried through the openings, it is frequently desirable to form the surface of the screen with these depressions.

It is frequently desirable to form motion picture screens of such material that vthey will Withstandexcessively hard usage and still permit of no damage to the reecting surface of the screen. This type of screen is particularly desirable when a portable screen is found necessary. Such a screen may comprise a woven wire cloth of such construction that the wires appearing on thefront of the screen comprise almost a continuous surface of wire. ln forming this type of wire fabric, the weft wires of the screen are laid substantially adjacent one another, and the Warp wires are placed at a considerable distance from each other. The weft wires due to their greater diameter and the form of Weaving are the only wires which are exposed lon the surface of the screen. In making screens of this nature, the weft wires are composed of a highly light reflecting metallic substance, such as aluminum or its alloys, nickel and the like. A screen composed in this manner is highly reflective and at the same time diffuses the light very effectively, Sound waves may be transmitted from the" back through rthe interstices of the Wire mesh material, and due to the structure of the screen are directionally impelled as they emerge on the surface `of the screen, but substantially all of the light impinging upon the front side of the screen is reected back toward the spectators and effectively diffused. The interstices through wire mesh material of this nature terminate on the spectator side of the screen in each case in a miniature megaphone formation, so that sound waves transmitted with only one directional change through the screen from the back; toward the front are directed toward the spectators as the waves emanate from the individual sound boxes.

It is understood that I do not wish to confine myself to the particular screens illustrated and described in this specification. These are given merely by way of example of the invention which resides more particularly in a foraminous struc-nu ture which reflects and diffuses projected light and at the same time permits sound waves to be transmitted therethrough. These sound Waves as they emerge at the front of the screen are directed toward the spectators due to 'the sound box or megaphone structure of the openings on the spectator side of the screen. The openings appearing on the surface of the screen also are of such a nature or so positioned in reference to surface features of the screen, that the apparent opening visible to the spectators is smaller than the actual opening.

I claim:

l. A screen for the projection of pictures ac of short tubes arranged in contact with one another in rows oblquely to the plane of the screen, each row of tubes overlapping its adjacent rows, the rear surfaces of the interior of the tubes forming a part of the reflecting surface of the screen.

2. A screen for the projection of pictures accompanied by sound comprising a plurality of rows of tubes arranged in overlapping relation, and means connecting said 'tubes to provide a foraminous screen panel which will resist the passage of light, the rear surfaces of the interior of the tubes forming a part of the reflecting surface of the screen.

ALBERT L. RAVEN.

EERTHFMATE @F @@RRECTHN.

raient No. i, 985,460.

December 25, i934,

ALBERT lL. RAVEN it yis hereby certified that error appears in the printed specification ci the above numbered patent' requiring correction 'as ioiiowe: Page 2, first column,

iiue di, ior v"perspertive" read perspective; page fi, "rows" read strips; 'and .line c7, for vstrips first column, line 66, for read rows; and that the 'said Letters Patent shoud be read with these corrections therein that the same may conform :to tire record ci therese in faire Patent @ffice Signed and sealed this i'th day oi February, ii. ii. i935.

(Saai) Les i ic 'Frazer Acting (Commissioner oi Patents. 

